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Harvest of Terror
*The Silverguard **Ashen Knights *Priesthood of the Beyond |side2 = *Arak'Shabtir *Sanguinites |commanders1 = Lyraeni Sorrowsong Raphah Sunflame |commanders2 = Salrin Bloodmoon Thedes Marou |forces1 = Death Knights Necromancers |forces2 = Ghosts Nerubians Vampyr San'layn |casual1 = Minimal |casual2 = Heavy *Anub'teris *Thedes Marou *Salrin Bloodmoon |civilian = ~100-200}}Harvest of Terror was a campaign in which the Ashen Knights and the Priesthood of the Beyond confront vampire activity in the Kingdom of Stormwind, primarily based in western Duskwood. Background During the Third Burning Legion Invasion of Azeroth, three San'layn - Alytheria, Inkorkast, and Sinar - coordinated the construction of a hidden sanctuary that could be used to rebuild a vampire society from the crippled remains of the San'layn that had been destroyed during the War against the Lich King. The sanctuary was named Thedo'thalas, built within the underground of Duskwood. It became the center of operations for a mass conversion of the local human population into fledgling vampires. The San'layn exploited the vulnerability of the Grand Alliance as the war against the Legion immediately followed by the Fourth War drew attention and resources away from domestic affairs in an already troubled kingdom. With the Alliance's capacity to retaliate restricted, the San'layn began collecting victims who would be turned en masse within the depths of Thedo'thalas, beginning with the homeless of Westfall. Fear has since swept the populace, as innocents are now snatched from the security of their own homes, even from the seeming safety of Goldshire. The Stormwind guard has taken action with what leads they possess, monitoring the Fargodeep Mine and doing their best to protect the townsfolk against an unseen threat. Prelude A Witch's Gambit In an effort to find Sylvia Solflame, Alytheria Bloodmoon personally ventured out of her hidden sanctuary. Visiting the Cinderwood in the company of her brood, she spied on the lands for an indeterminate period of time until her presence was discovered by Sylaise Cinderwood, who slew Alytheria's spiders and beckoned her to emerge from her hidden location. Alytheria revealed herself, and the two traded words in a brief confrontation that led to a discussion over tea. During the course of the talk, the two discussed Valythra Bloodmoon, who Alytheria believed deserved to live among San'layn while Sylaise advocated for her to live in the Cindergrove. The two struck a bargain to not attempt to directly interfere with Valythra's development and to merely watch. If Valythra found happiness among the living, Alytheria was to stay with the Cinderwood family, and if Valythra found only hurt and disappointment, Sylaise would be made Alytheria's thrall. Alytheria then took up residence in the Temple of Elune within the Cindergrove, establishing a temporary home. Duel in the Cindergrove Sylvia and Valythra were accosted on the road by a masked San'layn, and it is revealed that a second undead presence was also stalking the pair. Concerned by the implications of two foes following them, the pair returned to the Cindergrove only to learn that Sylaise had gone missing during the campaign in Nazjatar, and Lord Caier is likely to be the next to assume control of the Cinderwood. Sylvia spoke with Alytheria to discuss her plans and reasons for being present. Alytheria named the masked San'layn - Inkorkast - and explained that she desired to speak with Sylvia to discuss the revival of House Solflame. As the two seemed to see eye to eye, the three women embrace as Pan, Sylaise's familiar, contacted Lyraeni to summon her presence in order to kill Valythra, Sylvia, and Alytheria. After Valythra left with one of the three crones into the Deep Wood, Alytheria sent Sylvia to Thedo'thalas before engaging with Lyraeni Sorrowsong in battle. During the battle, Alytheria's home in the Temple was destroyed and she was severely wounded by a wound through her midsection caused by the holy Solar Spire. Inkorkast rescued her, though at injury to himself as well as they both escape. The Solar Spire was cast into the Mirror of Belore, where it remains to this day. The Rogue Necromancer Aeronessa Dawnstar, a half elven mage of the Kirin Tor, was deployed to Duskwood to retrieve the Tome of the Twincaster, an item of magic said to be hoarded by the Dark Riders. On her path to the tower of Karazhan, she encountered a wounded man in a bush, a priest named Osmond. He was a pale and deprived of blood, suffering from a bite from a vampire. The mage escorted the man back to Raven Hill where he was tended to by the local priestess, but not far from the town, a hooded figure bearing a scythe stood watch. The figure's name was Chara. She revealed to Aeronessa that the trouble of vampires was no longer a strange occurrence in the region of Duskwood, and instead had seemingly become commonplace in a short span of time. Furthermore, she revealed that the dead were restless to the north within the Dawning Wood catacombs, once the center of operations of Morbent Fel. In exchange for Chara's guidance to Karazhan to find the Dark Riders' hoard, Aeronessa journeyed into the catacombs with Chara. The two discovered that the undead were only present in very thin numbers, discovering only three skeletons in their path and one, Alrus the Fallen, defending their master. The rogue necromancer, Thedes Marou, had been raising the skeletons in the catacombs and was now found twisting the souls of dead in a fell ritual. Aeroness and Chara focused on defeating Alrus as the skeletal mage conjured a mighty blizard. Though Alrus fell, Thedes escaped from the depths. With their mission complete, Chara fulfilled her end of the bargain to guide Aeronessa to Karazhan. On the path to Karazhan, they were followed by a vampire who had recently fed on blood. She was crying and hiding behind a tree as the pair approached, and confided in Chara revealing that she wished to die. The pair decided to grant the vampire's wish, dispelling her animate magics and cremating her body, dispersing her ashes into the Deadwind Pass. Insidious Dealings Alytheria's duel with Lyraeni Sorrowsong was costly, for the elder vampire was wounded by a weapon with the potential to destroy her very being. Though she survived, the battle forced her to recuperate, and days spent in recovery gave way to opportunity for an enterprising man. Salrin Bloodmoon, the youngest son of Alytheria, decided to seize advantage of Alytheria's debilitating wound. Dissatisfied with her strict regulation of vampiric activity, Salrin began a quiet resistance and encouraged his fellow vampires to indulge in their baser hungers. As vampires began to hunt freely in Duskwood, Elwynn, and Westfall, the lesser Bloodmoon learned of the Silverguard's activities in the Cindergrove, as well as their campaign against the Choir of Silence. Though Alytheria desired an update on the condition of the Cindergrove and Sylaise herself, Salrin departed with another goal in mind. He ventured into the Deep Wood, searching instead for the Choir that the Silverguard had fought, searching for an ally that Alytheria did not possess. He found it in the form of a vague alliance with the Choir, and concluded his night by feeding upon an orphanage within Sweetsong. Events A Call for Aid The latest incidents have left Chara at a loss. With no knowledge of how to combat vampires, Chara contacted the Ashen Lady, Lyraeni Sorrowsong. Bringing the aspirants of her order, the Ashen Knights, the five individuals were given a summary of recent events. At Lyraeni's request, Chara led them to the latest victim, a priestess named Emily Sunderland. Her grave was buried outside of Raven Hill, among many others who had been buried along the road out of fear of necromancers. Lyraeni used her pyromantic magics as an Ashen Knight to draw out Emily's corpse from her grave and cremate it, conversing with the echo of her spirit to glean information of her death. Emily revealed that she was blinded by darkness before being attacked by a female vampire, who laughed as she died. As they conversed with the spirit, a golden-haired woman watched from behind a tree before slinking back into the shadows. The party reconvened and left for the Priesthood's home, the town Andour. There, Lyraeni prepared to establish a connection between the Refuge and Anowr, and Kreilan and Isilirae set out to investigate the mysterious woman. Following the Trail Isilirae and Kreilan's investigations into the mysterious woman revealed that she had retreated into the catacombs not far from where the party had originally gathered. The group collectively agreed that the best course of action would be to follow the woman's path and find out where she went. Upon descending into the catacombs, they reached the former domain of the late ruler of Duskwood's undead, Morbent Fel. Within, two braziers of Scourge coldflame burned, their light barely illuminating a peculiar rune on the nearby wall. Lyraeni investigated the wall, lighting it with her own coldflame to reveal inscriptions of blood runes - strangely a derivation of Vrykul runes, but not exact - upon the wall, just above a fanged visage, its maw open. Lyraeni left for a moment to retrieve two runeblades: Sorrow's Song and Amorath the Ravenous, her former blade and the blade stolen from Valythra Bloodmoon. She applied both to the fanged visage, and the runes reacted with a momentary flash, but nothing more happened. She later extracted the magic from the runes, causing them to disappear. Meanwhile, the Ashen Knights stood guard over their entry point, watching for likely attackers. As they did, the sound of heavy footfalls in plate armor echoed throughout the crypts, the volume suggesting a massive horde. The approaching army was revealed to be a swarm of undead, ghouls and skeletons and more that shambled towards the Knights. The party defended themselves and attacked the horde, but their weapons found no purchase for the undead were seemingly illusory creatures. Only Isilirae struck a foe, for her volley of shorts struck one figure - the woman who had watched them. The undead evaporated into shadowy mist and the woman attempted to flee. Lyraeni shot the woman with an arrow emblazoned with Razorice, stunning her as Elysia dragged her back with a Death Grip. Pinned by Isilirae, it was quickly revealed that the woman was in fact a vampire. The group began to interrogate her but for that she could not speak, for an external force held her tongue. Pressured by Lyraeni's enslaving magic, the vampire managed to utter a single word: "Bloodmoon". Realizing that Alytheria was responsible for this woman's turning, Lyraeni brought the vampire back to Andour, where she would ultimately be questioned. Witness Protection , Kreilan Palewood, and Elysia Dawnfury.]] With the vampire held in the custody of the Priesthood of the Beyond and the Ashen Knights, it was time to interrogate her. Lyraeni applied pressure and queries before determining what it was the stayed the vampire's tongue: the mark of a spider on the back of her neck. Carefully, Lyraeni cut away the skin that bore the mark, freeing her from the mental influence. Meanwhile, an unprecedented event occurred. Citizens of Raven Hill, who had previously never come to the town of Andour, now stormed the priests' home accusing them of foul acts of necromancy and attempting to raise their dead. Lyraeni and the Knights began to appeal their case, explaining that they were hunting a San'layn and not raising the dead. The locals seemed convinced, but paranoia drove a man to attack Elysia with a blessed arrow. As the citizens began to bicker and argue over the credibility of Lyraeni's story, a great spectral mass loomed over the town. Ghosts appeared and began to assault the locals until Lyraeni's urging for the townsfolk to evacuate. As the Priesthood focused on pacifying the tormented souls, the Ashen Knights defended themselves and their captive from the raging spirits. They ultimately proved successful in their battle, and Lyraeni began a ritual of Drust magic to evaluate the vampire's soul, assessing any lingering tethers that remained. The brief ritual revealed the likely "birthplace" of the vampire: deep underground, beneath Raven Hill. The Architect TBA What They Left Behind WIP The Purging of Thedo'thalas WIP Aftermath WIP Category:Campaigns Category:Battles Category:The Silverguard Category:Priesthood of the Beyond Category:Bloodmoon Dominion